NJ politician who posted Confederate flag picture re-elected

Wednesday, November 8, 2017

FRANKLIN, N.J. (AP) — A New Jersey lawmaker who was heavily criticized for sharing a picture of himself standing by a Confederate flag has won re-election.

Republican Assemblyman Parker Space and Hal Wirths won two Assembly seats in the state's 24th District. Space and Wirths defeated Democrats Kate Matteson and Gina Trish, along with two Green Party candidates.

Space came under heavy criticism when he and his wife posed in front of a Confederate flag at a Hank Williams Jr. concert in August. Space captioned the Facebook post, "Tailgating waiting for Hank. Hope no one is offended! LOL."

Matteson and Trish called Space's behavior "disrespectful to the thousands of constituents he represents." Then-gubernatorial-candidate Phil Murphy denounced the flag as a symbol of hatred.